The present invention relates to a mooring arrangement in general and more particularly to a hawser hook which is to be used for mooring ships to piers, or similar mooring structures.
It has been already proposed to so construct hawser hooks, with which hawsers or like mooring lines are to be engaged to moor ships to piers or similar mooring structures, that they include a respective anchoring element which is connected to and extends upwardly of the mooring structure, a hub mounted on the anchoring element for rotation thereabout, a hook frame mounted on the hub for pivoting toward and away from the mooring structure along a substantially vertical plane, a hook member mounted on the hook frame for pivoting between an engaging position in which a hawser can be engaged therewith, and a disengaging position, and an arresting arrangement which arrests the hook member in its engaging position for quick release.
The hook frame of such proposed hawser hook is usually elongated and has a pair of lateral mounting portions parallel to the above-mentioned plane, the hook frame being connected to the hub for pivoting about a horizontal axis and for rotation therewith about the vertical axis of the anchoring element. The anchoring element, in turn, is connected to a base which is embedded in or otherwise immovably connected to the mooring structure. The free end of the hook frame, which is spaced from the region at which the hook frame is pivoted on the hub, abuts against the exposed surface of the mooring structure so that, then the hub rotates with the hook frame about the above-mentioned vertical axis, the free end of the hook frame glides over the exposed surface of the mooring structure. In order to avoid unnecessary damage, to facilitate the sliding, and to prevent possible blockage, it has been already proposed to arrange a slide member of sheet material at the exposed surface of the mooring structure around the anchoring element and particularly in the region where the free end of the hook frame would otherwise come into contact with the exposed surface of the mooring structure. The provision of such a support member on the exposed surface of the mooring structure considerably increases the cost of manufacturing and assembling the hawser hook.
There have also been proposed hawser hooks for use in towing ships, in which the hook frame is directly connected to a pillar-shaped anchoring element and is supported in an inclined position by a supporting cage, a supporting member or a similar arrangement; however, such hooks are only suited for use where the loading of the hawser hook is much smaller than the loading to which hawser hooks designed to moor ships to mooring structures are subjected.
When it was attempted to utilize a similar principle in a hawser hook for mooring ships to mooring structures, such as piers, wharfs and the like it has been established that the above-mentioned sliding member is indispensable if it is desired to avoid damage to the mooring structure. This, of course, is very disadvantageous in that, as already explained above, such sliding member or plate is a rather expensive proposition.